CEO Of Massive US Defense Firm Scoffs At The 'Fiscal Cliff'

The CEO of the fourth largest U.S. defense firm, Raytheon (5th largest in the world), Bill Swanson "is telling investors sequestration would be a 'speed bump,' not a 'guillotine,'" according to Politico.

"Literally, you'll go into it slow, go over the top of it, and then you come out of it as quick as you possibly can," Swanson said. "It's not a guillotine." The market would be able to recover, he said. For example, Raytheon would look to its foreign military sales, which make up more than 25 percent of its business, to help fill in shortfalls in orders or production, he said. None of those sales would be affected by sequestration, he added.

Raytheon has substantial foreign contracts, one most recently with Israel to improve upon the lauded Iron Dome — Israel just contracted Raytheon for a "Next Generation" missile defense system, an Iron Dome 2, for lack of better terminology. The $25 billion company also put the finishing touches on a new missile factory about a week ago.